The Devil“I do not fear Satan half so much as I fear those who fear him.”St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)

Recently, a small, family-owned restaurant here in central North Carolina was intimidated into canceling a special event they had planned. Based on their experiences at similar offerings in New York, they had planned to offer a special dinner and Tarot reading night.

But some local fundamentalists got wind of these plans, and immediately sent a committee-appointed spokesperson who utterly blasted them for even considering such an event. She threatened them, promising, “We will ruin you!” With, what the owner described as a chilling smirk on her face, she also warned that they would have their children spread the word in school that the restaurateurs were, “serving the work of Satan.”

Dealing with people so sure of their moral superiority, yet so lacking in love, tolerance, or compassion is very difficult. Not to mention simply having their facts straight! It is almost impossible to reason with people who take this kind of position, because the foundation of their belief is deliberately not reasonable or educated. They relish themselves as soldiers and martyrs for their beliefs. They are at war with everyone who does not agree with them.

Why are they so afraid?

We might ask, why not? Fear is the hottest commodity on the market today, and its bitter fruit is hopelessness. Like the apathetic couple in The Devil card, the constant barrage of fear eventually numbs us, and becomes so all-pervasive, we can barely discern it.

So who is The Devil? Who is the Beast who enslaves us, who breaks our will to the point that, like in this card, we’ve surrendered our very power to change? What do we believe about intentional evil at work in the world?

As we begin the first week of Summer, when there is the least darkness on the land, we have an important reminder to pay attention to Shadow. This week, we have an opportunity to examine how our fears drive us, hurt others, sabotage our dreams, and silence us into despair.

This week, we can be equally as ignorant, intolerant and self-righteous as fundamentalists of every stripe. Or we can choose awareness, even though it might sometimes be uncomfortable. Like the couple in the Devil card, our chains are loose, and we only need wake up, and act on our own behalf, in order to be free once more.

Your thoughts in the final paragraph of your post have struck me, not unlike being slapped with a gauntlet. Choosing awareness can be very uncomfortable, especially when it means being truly aware of our own selves and our own motivations. Thank you for such a lovely and relevant post.

June 23, 2008, 1:23 pmARIE

Hi Beth,It’s all about self awareness. Know thyself. Isn’t it. Most fears are unnecessary and imaginary. Each person has fears of his own which are peculiar of her/him alone. These fears must first be found and observed. Self awareness work is necessary. Shadow work.Many fears are related to lies people tell themselves and are not aware of. Then there are common fears present in a group of people. This reminds of a witchcamp I participated when the police came (fortunately) on the last day when everybody was leaving. The people in the nearby village seemed to have found the pentacle direction signs to the place we where. Living in Israel I’m confronted with mass hysteria that can only lead to more violence. For me connection to nature improves self awereness.Now during the summer there is an increase in sexual energy which when wrongly channeled can lead to violence. Usually it is a mass effect. One needs to be aware not to be affected. Thanks for your writings. They are really very enlighting. Arie

June 23, 2008, 2:27 pmGreg Fletcher-Marzullo

Okay, so this has nothing to do with the card of the week, but I had to tell you, Beth.

Those Faery Cookies with the lavender in them and the rosewater and confectioner’s sugar glaze were amazing! I was going to bring them to friends, but I hoarded them and, with the exception of making offerings to the Fae, are reserving them for my own delight.

Thank you!

June 24, 2008, 8:05 amBeth Owl's Daughter

Thank you so much for your encouragement, zen student and arie. The Devil is not always an easy card to pull, much less write about. But this recent run-in with people so full of self-righteous hatred reminded me that we all must be mindful of the shadows that drive us.

Not easy work at all, but so necessary. Truly, the Devil is a gift for us to understand how we can be programmed by some influences, and also how we must take the risk of facing our “demons” if we are to ever be happy.

Again, thank you for sharing.. This is important work, and I am so glad we can share some of it together.

And Greg – aren’t those just wonderful? So glad you enjoyed them.

After working with this Shadow stuff, I definitely recommend a plate of Lavender Faerie Cookies! 🙂

And more about lavender in the days ahead!

June 24, 2008, 2:28 pmARIE

When I respond to anger/fear of others towards me with kindness it has a very strong effect. Not easy to do though when somebody rages at you. Then the other person gets confused. It disturbs the mechanicalness and it can change their behaviour. I wonder what would have happened if the restaurant owner would have welcomed that intimidating person, offering a cup of tea and having a heart to heart chat. Well that was what an esoteric school activist teacher called Jesus was teaching during his days. In the card the devil puts fire on the man’s tail. Like saying hey wake up! But sleep is very strong…Arie

June 27, 2008, 9:37 amRandir

Hi Beth and hi everyone, my name’s Randir and I stumbled on this website after a lucky google search.It has been a very difficult week and everybody seemed to get at each other’s throats, including me.Usually I’m a relaxed guy and I try to work with my Shadow to better understand it, so I’m kind of peaceful and appeasing, but in these days I was taken by surprise by the rampant aggressiveness.People repeatedly snapped with irritation, and someone even came at me screaming and raging: in astonishment I looked at myself, dragged on by the fury and plummeting down to the same hellish level.After many years of self-discovery, studies, healing experiences and “powerful” nights, I too was possessed so easily.After a while I calmed down, and I was wondering what kind of influx was going rampant around!My inner and darker depth seemed to cherish it with such an energy, that I had not seen in a long time.I was intrigued.

That is how I came here, on the first try actually.Beth, your reading of the Devil Tarot influencing the present week is quite interesting and appropriate, and it pushed my thoughts back in the correct direction.Awareness can be stripped from us in the blink of an eye, and once lost we may not even know that it just happened.Now I’m remembering that a constant striving toward our Center is required and must become an essential part of our life, otherwise all efforts and hard-gained personal changes too easily may be wasted and forgotten.Living the present in full consciousness is the way.

Thank you very much, Beth and Zen Student and Arie.It is nice to have proof again that a helping light can be found even in the darkest moments.

Greg, you put the smile back on my face, may the Spirits bless you 🙂Besides, now I want to try the cookies…